The crisis in Scotland’s A&E departments cannot be allowed to continue, Scottish Labour has said, as another set of statistics have underlined the continuing problems in Scotland’s hospitals.

The latest statistics show that during week ending 7 August 2022 only 67.9% of attendances at A&E services were seen and resulted in a subsequent admission, transfer or discharge within 4 hours.

Shockingly, some 2,369 patients spent more than 8 hours in an A&E department with 916 patients spending more than 12 hours.

Crucially, fewer than half (48.5%) of people attending Forth Valley Hospital were seen within the 4 hour timespan. The figure was even worse in the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, where only 43.1 percent of people were seen within four hours.

Commenting, Scottish Labour health spokesperson Jackie Baillie said: “Week in, week out we are faced with thousands of Scots waiting hours and hours for emergency treatment.

“We cannot go on like this.

“Scotland’s A&E services are dangerously overheated because of lack of capacity elsewhere in the NHS system – with lives being put in danger every day.

“NHS staff are working heroically but they are being failed day in and day out by this government.

“We cannot allow more lives to be endangered by SNP incompetence. Humza Yousaf must finally wake up to the situation and act now before more lives are lost.”